By Becca Wood - Today
Matthew Perry's statements in a 2022 interview resurface in light of the actor's death last Saturday, October 28.
During an interview with host Tom Power in November last year about his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, the former Friends actor was asked how he would like to be remembered.
Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing during a promotional shoot for the first season of NBC's "Friends." Reisig & Taylor/NBC
"As someone who lived well, loved well and was a seeker," Perry told a live audience at a theater in Toronto, Canada. "And most importantly, I wanted to help people; That's what I want."
In the same interview, Perry said his dreams had shifted from acting to guiding people on their path to sobriety. The actor had set up a men's sobriety center at his former home in Malibu, California, in 2013, according to People.
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"When I die, I don't want Friends to be the first thing mentioned. I want that (the sobriety center) to be the first thing that gets mentioned," she said of her work helping people. "And I'm going to live the rest of my life proving it."
When asked about the soundtrack to his memoir, Perry said he thought of the song Don't Give Up by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush, adding that he would write that phrase when he signed books.
Perry told Power that while writing his memoir he realized "how close he came to death" on several occasions. In another interview, he told People magazine that he was extremely grateful to be alive. "And that gives me the ability to do anything."
According to authorities, Perry was found unconscious in the hot tub of his Los Angeles, California, home around 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 28. City firefighters pronounced him dead upon arrival at the scene.
According to a preliminary investigation by the robbery homicide division, no "obvious signs of trauma" were found. Authorities said the official cause of Perry's death is pending the coroner's investigation.
In both his memoir and interviews, Perry had spoken openly about his path to alcoholism and addiction. In the book, the actor revealed that he had spent more than $7 million trying to stay sober and had been to rehab at least 15 times.